My crazy Josiah

This was from last Sep! We went camping at Flaming Gorge with some friends. Josiah said this is where I came for the scout camp here and went clif jumping!!! So we were searching for the spot where he went alomst 15 years ago. We stopped at the dam info center and asked where it will be and the lady knew that place. It is abour 10 min away from the dam and a little hike to the spot.

If you are looking for a place to clif jump, this is a place to do it!


This is the sencond clif

He is crazy.... first one was about 70 feet and the second one.... a lot higher than the first one. I need to ask Josiah. I was more nurvous with the kids trying to get to the edge of the clif to see Dad jumping.







I can totally see Lily trying this kind of stuff someday!

Here are some pictures from the camping trip

My addiction...

It was last year when my good friend Aya gave Lily the crochet flower pin for Christmas gift. She told me how easy it is to make it! I have tried to learn to crochet before, but I never really got it. She invited me over to her house and showed me how to make it, but my kids were there... so didn't work.

But those flowers were soooo cute!!! I really wanted to learn it!! So, since then I used You Tube like crazy!!! to learn how to crochet!!!!! I still have a lot of learning to do, but I am getting pretty good at it!
I've made a lot of things ever since and it is sooooooooo fun!!!

My mom is super good at crochet! Why didn't I learn from her as I was growing up!??
Here is THE site that helped me TONZ to start learning crochet.

Crochet Geek by Teresa
http://crochet-mania.blogspot.com/#!/p/index-of-patterns.html

She has lots of tutorial on Youtube and she does slow motion! So student like me that needs to repeat the motion many many times, this site is amazing and I have no guilt to go over again and again! because I am not bothering my teacher ;0)
She also have free patterns. So its good to practice on those before spending money on patterns that is beyond my skills!

So, etsy.com has been my addiction. There are many patterns there (easy to super intermediate) and I bought many patterns ;0) I am working on Josiah's hat now and leggings for my friends new babies!!! How fun!

Good reminder

So, I always dreamed all the fabulous things we can do and have when Josiah is done with school.... I just see many friends around who has all the things that I wish I had and it is not easy not to be jealous. That is my honest feeling. Then I heard this talk by President Uchtdorf (He is in the presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) He always seemed to know what I need to hear. I really enjoy listening to his talks. I loved his talk at General Relief Society Conference 2011, and this part of his talk really reminded me how the happiness can be found everyday. What he said is nothing new.... I know it. But it is so good to be reminded time to time.

The lesson here is that if we spend our days waiting for fabulous roses, we could miss the beauty and wonder of the tiny forget-me-nots that are all around us.

This is not to say that we should abandon hope or temper our goals. Never stop striving for the best that is within you. Never stop hoping for all of the righteous desires of your heart. But don’t close your eyes and hearts to the simple and elegant beauties of each day’s ordinary moments that make up a rich, well-lived life.

The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments. They are the ones who, thread by daily thread, weave a tapestry of gratitude and wonder throughout their lives. These are they who are truly happy.

明けましておめでとうございます ～ここ何年か振り返って～

明けましておめでとうございます。

今年こそは少しずつ私たちの生活の様子を書いていこうと思います。

年が明けてもう１週間！！アメリカはハッピーニュイヤー！！！！って夜中に言って１月１日ちょっとだけリラックスな１日をおくりそれでお正月終わり、みたいな感じなので、全然お正月なきがしません。ちょっとお正月っぽく３１日はお寿司をしてみたりお雑煮作ったりしましたが、やっぱり日本のお琴がいつでも聞こえるようなテレビ番組もないし、ここではお正月気分は無理です。でもお雑煮とかお餅とかが恋しくなるのは日本人って証拠ですよねぇ。子供たちもおいしいって食べてました。子供たちにも文化を教えるのに、もっと色々やるべきだったかなぁ。皆さんは何かしました？？

そうそう、１月３日でやっとジョサイアも大学院が終わり、５日から仕事が始まりました。今週いっぱい休んで月曜からスタートにすればよかったのに、今までずっと勉強の毎日だったから。私ならゆっくりしたいけどなぁ。

ジョシーも運がよく(いや、がんばってきたからかなぁ）、ユタの電力会社での就職が決まり、昨日ニコニコして仕事から帰ってきました。同僚も同じくらいの年代の人たちが多いようで、仕事に行くのが楽しみといってます。

長かった学生結婚生活。やっと終わりです。苦しい苦しいって言う生活ではなかったけれど、何が大変だったかって子供たちの手助けがもうちょっとあればうれしかったなぁ。うちの子たち他のお友達よりもけっこうやんちゃだし、元気良すぎだったりすること多かったから、あぁもうわたしだめぇって思うこともしょっちゅうだったし、でもお勉強あるからちょっとの時間子供達ジョシーにあずけて気分転換にどこか行くとかとかあまりできなかったなぁ。子供たちもお父さんは勉強だから！宿題してるから！って言われて育ってきたから、なかなかお父さんとたっぷり遊ぶって事出来なかったんじゃないかな。でもそんな中でもジョシーは子供たちに本読みとかしてくれたり、時間のある時はあそんであげたり、勉強のない夜は一緒にテレビドラマ見たり、愚痴ろうと思えばリストは長～く続くけど、でも感謝することや楽しかったことも愚痴るリストを超えるくらい沢山あったから、きっとやって来れたんだろうなぁ。

学生生活してるママたち！ガンバレー！！！！何か私に出来ることあったら連絡してね！！！
そして応援してくれた家族の皆さん、お友達、ありがとうございました。

First Day of Work

Yes... Josiah has worked before, but today felt a little special. He was a little nurvous last night and this morning. This is it. Its the REAL JOB. It is not the others in the past weren't, but thinking that this is what he will do and where he will work for many many years made Josiah a little more nurvous than before. After a few years of staying home to do school work, it is kind of weird that he is not here during the day!!

2011 pictures -Spring and Summer-

I take waaay too many pictures... we are running out of space on the computer. Josiah told me to organize the file and it has been taking me forever to look through all the pictures I have taken over the years! I should do the digital story book thing that lots of my friends are doing!!

here are some from last year ;0)

New Year, New Beginning! #2

So, today was a big day for our family. It took a long long time, but my husband Josiah is finally done with his school!! He will be graduating with a master's degree in Electrical Engineering with the high voltage power emphasis.
I met him in 2002. We were both going to Weber State University. He was going there even before I met him. Since then he studied and studied and never gave up on achieving his goal. Studying back then and last 5 years are totally different. Back then, Josiah had no wife, kids, dog, house, rental property, demanding church callings, and all the bills to pay.... I just want to say that it took enormous level of determination and endurance for him to get here. I am amazed how strong Josiah is. I am very grateful for all these years of work he did. Thank our friends and family for their friendship and support throughout this journey!!

WE MADE IT!!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAY!!!

So this is how our anxious day went.
My kids and I decided to decorate outside to surprise daddy, so as soon as we finished our breakfast, we went to Zurchers to get balloons and butcher paper for a banner! We got home and start working on decorating, then Josiah came out asking what I am making for lunch!

Shoot.... he saw the streamers and balloons....

He pretended that he didn't see it (to kids, he didn't see nothing at all and had no idea what we are doing outside) He decided to spend some time in the office till we are all done decorating. Little after noon, we were finally done with decorating, and kids were so excited to get Josiah! I spend all the time decorating and not preparing the lunch. So we decided to take daddy out for lunch to Wing Nutz ;)

He told us he would have till 3 pm to look over his assignments then he will be done FOREVER!!!!

So when we came home, I decided I should take a power nap on the couch till the time came. hee hee. I was so anxious I wanted the hour to pass sooner, so crocheting and nap were perfect.

Then I heard the office door opened a little after 3!!! and Josey said, "I just sent my last assignments!"

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!

We had fire crackers and gave big hugs to Josiah!!!

Kids' request for the evening was to spend some time with mom and dad together.

We had a great time at the pool swimming!

What a good day.... From now on, we all have a little bit more time to be with each other ;0)

New Year, New Beginning!

I won't even say that I will do better job updating this year! Thank you for visiting our blog! Here is a letter that I sent to friends and family for holiday grettings! I am sorry I missed some of you! Josiah and I will do better with cards and hopefully they will be all sent by Christmas!!!

Dear family and friends

2011 was another exciting year for the Halverson’s. We thank many of you for the kind words and prayers as we were figuring out where Josiah would get his job. We are very excited that we get to stay in Utah and stay close to our family and friends. We can’t wait for this New Year to come and all the adventures that await us. We can’t thank you enough for all of your friendship, love and support throughout us trying to get through school. We must admit that it was not easy for us especially for Josiah, but we are glad that he did it. We hope that we may be a support to others as much as you have been to us.

Here are 2011 happenings at Halverson family

Josiah- It was another year of staying in his office all day to do his school work. Even though he was at home everyday doing schooling, I didn’t get to see him out of the dungeon playing with us till late evening. He worked very hard all throughout the year. His “stick-to–it-ness” to reach his goal, his mom calls, is truly amazing. With wife and two kids and all the responsibility he has, I am sure he had a lot on his shoulders for all these years as he tried to get through school. We are very thankful for his strength and his love for this family. We are very proud of him for his accomplishment. He also enjoyed being a scoutmaster as his dad had been for years while Josiah was growing up. He is getting a whole bunch of new scouts next year and excited to work and play with all those great boys in our ward!

Yuki- as I reflect my days, I don’t have big accomplishments or new excitements to share. But I have learned what it is like to be a mom of kids in school! And I enjoyed seeing kids learning and growing each day! With Kai starting preschool and both kids in Japanese school trying to get my schedule straight for driving, house work, homework with kids and playtime was not easy. I am sure many moms can agree that some days there was no “rest on the couch” till kids are ready to bed! I know it will just get busier as the kids get older, and I am bracing myself for the New Year!!! I also love being a primary chorister. Trying to figure out how to get those older group to be interested in songs, to sing them, and trying to help the younger ones remember the words were challenging. Yet it is my favorite part!!!

Kai-He had a great summer starting with spending fun time with grandparents and cousins in Utah! He loved every chance he had to be with cousins!! He also got to visit Japan to spend some time with his family there! There he acquired the taste for raw salmon and that is his favorite ever since. This fall, he started his preschool and he absolutely loved everything about school! He has started Karate class because of the influence of the power rangers we watched everyday in Japan!! I must say he has pretty strong kicks! He still has his high energy moments, but I can tell that he has matured a lot and is turning into a very good big brother!!!

Lily-She also had a great summer with family! She just loves everything Kai and their cousins are doing and tries so hard to be a big girl, and she really has been growing like crazy! Kai and Lily went to a Japanese preschool for a month while they were visiting Japan. She learned the language so well that we could tell she had a hard time switching to English when she came back here. Kai and Lily have been closer this year. She is getting older and is able to play with him better, they play together all the time! They call themselves “best friends”, and I am touched how much she loves and care for him. It was a hard day for her when Kai had to start his school. She also did a good job with tumbling class this fall, but she decided she likes dancing better!
Oh, she now wants people to call her “sprinkles” ;) She says it’s her new nickname!

and here is Japanese letter to friends and family!

にっぽんの大切な家族やお友達へ
今年の1年も我が家は色々とありました。こうしてまた1年健康で幸せに過ごせられたのもいつも支えてくれている両親、家族、友人たちのおかげです。本当にありがとうございました。日本での震災の時は、皆さんや友人達の家族の安否がとても心配でした。これからも、被災された方たちの1日も早い復興と皆さんの安全な毎日を私たち家族は心からお祈りしています。カイやリリーが、夜寝る前に家族でお祈りする時に、いつも日本にいる家族や友人たちが安全で守られるようにとお祈りしています。子供の素直な神様への祈りが皆さんにも届きますように。皆さんの来年がより良い１年となります様にお祈りしています。
では、今年のHalverson家の出来事をさらっとまとめました！！
★ジョサイア★今年も去年と変わらず、毎日勉強勉強の日々でした。その甲斐もあり、今年いっぱいで大学院も卒業です。(今ちょうどラストスパート中です)　長かった学生生活でした。でも一生懸命がんばったダディに私たちはとっても感謝です。子供たちはお父さんの宿題をしてるところを見て育ってきました。いつも勉強で忙しくて、なかなか遊んでもらえなかったけど、カイの父への尊敬している姿を見て、勉強も、教会の責任も一生懸命がんばってる父の姿を子供はしっかり見ていたんだと思いました。今まで応援してくださった皆さんありがとうございました！教会ではボーイスカウトの指導者に召されて、大雪の中キャンプに行ったり、サバイバルスキルのクラスなど、アウトドア大好きなジョシーにぴったり。でもスカウトの知識があるのと子供に教えるのは全く違って大変といつも色々調べながら良いスカウトマスターになれるようにがんばってるところです。
★ゆき★今年は特に新しいことや達成したことが無いような気がしますが、でも今年は子供たちの学校が始まったり、習い事があったりと今まで以上に忙しい毎日でした。子供たちが何かを学んで帰ってきて、それを楽しそうに話す時に“あぁがんばって連れて行った甲斐があったぁ”って思います。子供たちが大きくなればなるほどもっと私も忙しくなるんだろうなぁ。母の仕事って地味なことや達成感があまりないような事毎日ですが、でもこうして家族が笑ってるのを見ると、私の役目もとっても大切なんだなぁなんて思うこのごろです。私も今年から教会の子供たちの音楽の指導者になって、最初はどうやったらいいのか悪戦苦闘でしたが、最近はどうやったら小さい子が歌詞を覚えてくれるか、高学年の男の子たちが歌ってくれるか考えるのも一つの楽しみになってきました。
★カイ★今年のカイを始めと今とで比べると、心も体もかなり成長した気がします！ズボンも靴も何回買い換えたことか。沢山ご飯も食べるからいつも元気だし、やっぱり伸びるんですね！今年の夏はアメリカでも日本でも沢山家族との時間をすごしました。いとこたちとのお泊りや、山登り、パレード、キャンプ。日本では幼稚園やいとこ達とのお祭り、新しいお友達と言葉が通じなくても遊んで沢山の楽しい思い出を作りました。おじいちゃんと夜中に起きて市場に行ったり、おばあちゃんにゴーカイジャーショーにつれてってもらったり、おなかいっぱいサーモンも食べて、とっても楽しい夏でした。秋からはプリスクールも始まって、学校に行くのが楽しみでならない毎日です。日本語の学校にも通い始め、少しずつ日本語が話せることの楽しさを覚えてきてくれているようです！帰国してから戦隊ものの影響で、空手も始め、来年はイエローベルトでがんばります。
★リリー★リリーもビックリするくらい大きくなって、言葉もお兄ちゃんに負けないくらい！まだ小さいベビーと思ってたらもう３歳になってしまいました。やることなすことお兄ちゃんの真似で、小さいのに近所の男の子たちが遊ぶのに一生懸命くっついていってます。リリーも日本の幼稚園に泣きながらも毎日行って、カイと同じクラスでがんばりました！お歌も沢山覚えて、まったくだった日本語も会話が出来るくらいになり、帰ってきてからはちょっと英語と日本語で混乱してたみたい。ジュースの自動販売機とお店のおもちゃの販売機が大好きで、見つけるたびにそこから動かず何回おじいちゃんおばあちゃんのがおれたことか。(笑)　秋から体操のクラスに挑戦しましたが、やっぱりダンスがいいみたい。来年はバレエを始めてみようかと言っているところです。いつもひょうきんで、家族みんなを笑わせてくれるかわいいリリーです。